Machine for treating grain.



T. C. WALSTAD. 'MACHINEYFOR TREATING GRAIN. APPLICATION HLED050.22.1916.

1 ,QfiUfiUfi. Patented Mm. 263, 1918.

, I 2 SHEET$-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY T. c. WALSTAD.

MACHINE FOR TREATING GRAIN.

I ,APPLICATI ON FILED DEC-22 l9l6- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

" INVENTOR WlTNESSES Wm M ATTORNEY instep stares rarest enric THADDEUSC. WAIQSTAD, 0F MARMON, NORTH DAKOTA.

MACHINE son TREATING GRAIN.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, TI-IADDEUS C. YV AL- STAD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Marmon, in the county of Williams and State of NorthDakota, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forTreating Grain, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for treating grain, and moreparticularly to a machine for treating wheat, oats, and like grains forsmut.

One of the main objects of the lnventlon is to provide a treatingapparatus which is adapted to be used in connection wlth the usualcleaning or fanning mill so that the grain may be fed directly from themill into the treating apparatus, thus rendering 1t possible to fan thegrain and treat it for smut t a single operation. A further object is toprovide a treating machine of the character stated having atank forcontaming a solution of formaldehyde or the like and means for feedinggrain into thi tank and moving it through the solution and thendischarging it from the machine. A further object is to provide a tankhaving a guide tube and a conveyer operativ through the tube providedwith buckets adapted to fit snugly the interior of the tube, togetherwith means for feeding grain into the tube, the buckets of the conveyerbeing perforated to form means for moving the grain through the treatingsolution and for straining this solution from the grain as it iselevated and discharged. A further object is to provide means forsupplying the treating solution to the said guide tube. Further objectswill appear from the detail description.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a front view of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a top plan View,

Fig. 3 is a side view,

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken near one side of the machine,

Fig. 5 is a detail of the treating solutionsupply tank and the feedcontrol means therefor, and i i Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail sectionalview showing the connection between the feed duct and the grainreceiving and guide tu e.

The casing A is of sheet metal construction and formed with the casings1 and 2 which provide two separate compartments.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1218.

Application filed December 22, 1916. Serial No. 138,435.

A receiving hopper 3 is secured on the front wall of easing 1 andcommunicates with the lnterlor of the caslng, at the lower end thereof.This hopper is adapted t receive grain from the fanning mill indicatedgen erally by numeral 1, through the discharge chute 5. A. drive shaft 6is rotatably mounted in casing 1 near the upper end thereof. A sprocketwheel 7 is keyed on this shaft at the center of the same in verticalalinement with a lower sprocket 8 keyed on a shaft 9 rotatably mountedin the walls of casing 1 adjacent the lower end thereof. A chain 10 ispassed about these two sprockets and supports a plurality of spacedbuckets 11. The chain and buckets constitute a bucket conveyor which isso positioned as to receive and elevate grain discharged through a chute3 into the receiving bin 12 at the lower end of the casing 1.

A shaft 13 is rotatably supported in ms ing 2 adjacent the upper endthereof in vertical alinement with a shaft 14 rotatably mounted adjacentthe lower end of the casing. A sprocket 15 is secured on shaft 13 at thecenter thereof in alinement with asimilar sprocket 16 keyed on shaft 14.A chain 17 is passed about these two sprockets and supports a pluralityof spaced buckets 18 which are perforated to form strainer members asshown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. These buckets 18 are of such size as tofit snugly within a U-shaped guide tube 19 which is secured in thecasing 2 a short distance from the lower end of the cas ng and extendingdownward therein. The tube 19 is slotted to receive the sprocket 16, theinner walls 19 of the arms of the guide tube acting a guide flanges forthe chain 17. The upper end of the tube 19 is secured to the walls ofeasing 2 so as to form a tight closure therewith, and is inclineddownward and inward, as at 20, so that/all grain which fall from thebuckets 18 will be directed downward into the guide tube so as to beelevated by the succeeding buckets. A discharge opening 21 i providedthrough the outer wall of casing 2, in such position as to receive thegrain discharged from buckets 18 as they pass over the sprocket wheel15. A suitable hood 22 is secured on the casing in front of the opening21, and 1s provided with a downwardly extending peripheral flange 23spaced from the wall of casing 2 so as to permit a grain sack, or othersuitable receptacle, to be secured on th hood in position to receive thegrain discharged by the conveyor.

A grain chute or duct 24 is secured at its upper end through one wall ofthe casing 1 and communicates with a receiving hopper 25 positioned toreceive the grain discharged from the buckets 22 of the feed conveyer.The lower end of this duct is passed through the wall of easing 2 andcommunicates directly with the guide tube 19 a slight dis tance belowthe upper edge thereof. By this means the grain which is elevated by theconveyor in casing l is discharged directly into the guide tube 19. Asupply tank 26 is mounted adjacent the casing 1. This tank is adapted tocontain a suitable treating solution, such as a formaldehyde solution,and communicates through a tube 27 with the space between guide tube 19and the inner surface of easing 2. The outer end of tube 27 is connectedto avalve casing 28 in which is mounted a spring actuated valve normallyheld raised in a closed position by an expansion spring 29 mounted aboutthe valve stem 30 and confined between the casing 23 and a head 31secured on the upper end of the valve stem. A rod 32 is slidably mountedon the side of tank 26 through straps 83. This rod is provided with anintegral head 34 at its lower end which rests on the head 31 of thevalve stem 30. A bell crank 35 is pivoted on the tank, near the topthereof. The lower arm 36 of this bell crank is in engagement with theupper end of rod 32, and the upper arm of the bell crank is pivotallysecured, at its outer end, to a pull rod or cable 37. By exertingtension on the cable 37, rod 32 will be actuated so as to depress thevalve stem 30 thus opening the valve and permitting the treatingsolution to flow from tank 26 into the lower part of the casing 2. Thissolution flows upward about, and into, the guide tube 19. The grain isdischarged from the duct 24 directly into the solution within the tube19, after which it is moved through the tube and thesolution containedthereby by means of the buckets 18. Dur ing this movement the grain isagitated and brought into intimate contact with the treating solution,after which it is raised out of the solution and passed about thesprocket 15, being discharged from the bucket through opening 21. Afterit leaves the tube 19, and during its upward travel, the grain isstrained by means of the perforated bucket so as to thoroughly strain orseparate the treating solution therefrom, this solution flowing backinto the guide tube 19. This prevents all waste or loss of the treatingsolution and also insures that the grain will not be too wet for packingin bags and floater of this patent may be obtained for subsequentdrying, when discharged from the machine.

A sprocket wheel 38 is keyed on the outer end of shaft 13 which extendsthrough the side of easing 2 for this purpose. This sprocket is inalinement with a sprocket wheel 39 keyed on a shaft 10 rotatablysupported in spaced arms ll secured to the front wall of easing 1. Abeveled gear 4L2 is keyed on the other end of shaft 40 and meshes with asimilar gear 43 keyed on the end of shaft 6 which extends through thefront wall of the casing for this purpose. A sprocket chain 14 is passedabout the two sprockets 38 and 39 and about a sprocket pinion 15 keyedon a driven shaft 16 of the fanning mill 1. 'By this means, my graintreating machine may be connected directly to the fanning mill so as tobe op erated thereby, and to receive the grain as it is discharged fromthe mill. By my invention I provide simple and eflicient means speciallyadapted for use in conjunction with a fanning mill, whereby the grainmay be cleaned or fanned and treated for smut or similar diseases at asingle operationf It will be evident that there may be slight changesmade in the construction and arrangement of the different parts of myinvention without departin fromthe field and scope of the same and Iintend to include all such variations, as fall within the scope of theappended claim, in this application in which a preferred form only of myinvention is disclosed.

hat I claim is:

In a grain treating machine, the combination of a two compartmentcasing, a receiving hopper communicating with the interior of onecompartment of said casing at the bottom thereof, a bucket feed conveyoroperative in said compartment positioned to receive and elevate grainfed into the easing through said hopper, the other compartment of saidcasing being adapted to contain a treating solution, a guide tube in thelower end portion of the second mentioned compartment of the casing, anda receiving and discharging conveyor operative in said guide tube andprovided with a plurality of spaced perforated buckets adapted to fitsnugly the interior of said tube, the said feed conveyor being operativein a plane at a right angle to the plane ofoperation of the saidreceiving and discharging conveyor.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THADDEUS C. WALSTAD.

Witnesses Lonmv'rz G. JOHNSON, CARL RYEN.

five cents each. by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

